The Real World
by UmbraFox
Summary: Dante thinks his life is miserable. He never knew his parents, hates his caretaker, and to make things worse, he is stuck on a boat to nowhere. Suddenly, he finds himself in another world, an alternate life that needs the help of Kitt and an eerily familiar Luxio named Terrell. Will Dante discover who he really is? Will he find his real family? And who is Kitt?
1. At Sea

**I'm back again!**

**I told myself I wouldn't write another story for a while, but I got this idea stuck in my head, and kinda_ had _to write it down.**

**Anyway, the story is set in the mystery dungeon world, but it won't be following the MD plot.**

**Enjoy!**

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Dante looked up at the moon, her soft rays washing over his skin. It was a clear night. There were still a few clouds around, but the stars were out, as was the moon, its reflection distorted in the water. Dante liked the ocean, especially at night. He would stare at the moon for hours at a time, sometimes. The warm light it brought to the night soothed him, and he felt at home amongst the stars and the soft undulations of the water. He felt the boat rocking back and forth, gently, beneath his feet, and began to wonder why he had even come on this stupid expedition, well, that's what they called it anyway.

Dante had always been alone. He never knew his parents, and neither did anyone else. There was never any trace of anyone vaguely resembling a parent. Nobody came forward when he was found on the side of a road in a small coastal suburb of Sydney, lying in a Dante and Co fruit box – the origin of his name. He didn't have any brothers or sisters either, none that he knew of anyway. Eventually he ended up at a Christian orphanage just west of Sydney, run by the aptly named Miss Stone. Dante was never much of a people person, but Miss Stone was someone he especially despised. She took no prisoners when it came to discipline, and Dante knew this only too well. Too many times he had been on the wrong end of the cane for sneaking biscuits or being involved in a yard fight. He hated her, but at least he had shelter and food at the orphanage. Every year, the orphanage hosted an "expedition"; a lame trip to nowhere to visit some boring church to 'find peace with God' or something. Dante was never into that Christian business. He felt that, if there was a God up there somewhere, it had deserted him long ago.

The annual trip was not compulsory, of course, and Dante usually opted out every year, but this year, he had grown sick of the routine life of the orphanage, so he decided to go just this once. To break the routine and clear his head; he had told himself. This year's trip was to another boring place in New Zealand somewhere, hence the painfully long boat trip. A week, they had said. It had only been three days and already it felt like years had passed.

Dante heard the doors to the cabin lock. It was past curfew, and the doors were always locked after ten. Dante didn't mind. A few whacks with the strap were a small price to pay to stay out in the cool for another hour or so. Everyone inside had probably forgotten about him anyway. Clouds had begun rolling in, and pretty soon the moon had disappeared behind the tumbling mass. The wind had picked up, and the sea had become a mess of restless waves. Dante shivered and put his glove-clad hands under his armpits, to keep them warm. "Why did these stupid trips have to be in winter?" he asked himself in his mind, as if expecting an answer. Soon, the stars were completely snuffed out by the mass of dark, menacing clouds, and the waves struck the side of the boat with more venom, spraying onto the deck. Dante decided that it was far too cold and dangerous to stay outside anymore, and walked towards the cabin. As he reached for the handle and tried to open the door, he remembered that it had been locked at ten.

"Shit" he muttered to himself. The boat was rocking violently now, and Dante was struggling to stay on his feet. He stumbled his way to the other side of the cabin and tried the other door. It was locked too. Rain had begun falling now, each little droplet throwing itself at the deck of the boat, like tiny kamikaze pilots on their final flight.

"Hey!" Dante yelled as he hammered the door with his fist. "Let me in!" He could barely hear his own voice over the clattering of water on wood and tin. Dante knew that nobody inside could possibly hear him, but he slammed his fist into the metal door anyway, out of desperation more than anything else.

"Please!" He yelled again. "Let me-"

The wave struck him square in the back, slamming him against the metal door, before dragging him towards the side of the boat. Dante gasped for air, floundering for purchase on the slippery deck. He managed to bring himself to his hands and knees, weighed down by his soaked clothes, before he was struck by another powerful deluge of water. It dragged him away from the cabin, and towards the double-bar railing of the boat. Sliding backwards, Dante was unable to find a purchase on the metal floor, his hands scrabbling desperately for something to hold onto. Suddenly, he felt his legs leave the metal floor altogether, as they travelled off the edge into the open air. Almost simultaneously, Dante felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He had collected the bottom bar of the double-bar railing on the way under. Dante couldn't tell which way was up, and everything had just become a blur, a thousand pictures melted into a single, unrecognisable one. He barely felt the cold embrace of the sea as he plummeted into the churning waters. The waves seemed like they were pulling him down, like it was their only purpose.

Dante let out his last remaining breath of air, as the darkness closed in and the world slipped away…


	2. Reunion?

Terrell sat in his room in the Guild, listening to the rain pattering on the carved rock. Lightning flashed in the distance, and the thunder followed closely behind. Terrell loved the thunder, and the power and majesty of pure energy. Energy that cannot be seen, but is heard and recognised by everyone. He could see the fires in the distance. Fires of burning villages and flaming forests, needlessly destroyed. Fires started by Nova.

It had all started with the corruption of Palkia

Terrell remembered when life had been simple. He had gone everywhere with a feisty Buizel - Kitt; his best friend. The two of them became infamous amongst the villagers for being mischievous: a notorious Luxio and Buizel pair. Life was ordinary, and Treasure Town was its usual busy self.

It had all changed when Palkia went mad.

Bent on power, Palkia assembled a following of evil and unsavoury characters from all over the place. They called themselves The New Era Fighters – Nova – and were led by the most notorious villain of them all: Dusknoir. Some say he is responsible for the corruption of Palkia, and that it was his plan all along, but nobody knows for sure. All they know is it changed life forever.

Villages were burnt down, forests demolished and many lost their lives trying to escape. Dusknoir and Palkia claimed they were beginning a new era of 'liberation and salvation', but all they brought was death and destruction. Treasure Town's guild was converted into a fort of sorts, a base for the organised resistance against Nova, but Palkia seemed unstoppable. Then, when all seemed lost, a ray of hope shone through the dark clouds of despair; Kitt.

The Town Elder – a quiet old Alakazam – claimed he had seen the future. He said that one Pokémon will rise up against Palkia, and, with the help of another, Palkia would be defeated and order would be restored. That Pokémon, the Elder had said, was Kitt. However – the Elder had warned – if he tried to stop Palkia on his own, he would be defeated, but there will be a second chance.

The pressure on Kitt was immense. Terrell remembered watching the spark in his eyes slowly die, as he tried to carry the burden of being the people's saviour. He lost his personality, and became a shadow of his former self. He began to worry constantly, and nearly suffered a nervous breakdown.

When Palkia heard of the prophecy, he acted immediately, confronting Kitt in the heart of Treasure Town. Kitt fought bravely and managed to weaken Palkia, but Kitt grew wearier as the battle drew on, and eventually he was unable to fight any longer. Terrell remembered the day like it was yesterday, as he watched his best friend die, too scared to help. He blames himself for what happened that day, certain that if he hadn't been such a coward, things would be different.

Palkia, in his weakened state, didn't have the energy to kill Kitt, so instead, he sent Kitt to another dimension; another world, isolated from this one with no way back.

Another roll of thunder shook the air outside. Terrell continued staring out the window, blank. There was no-one on the streets outside, nor on the beach. The people had disappeared long ago. All that remained in Treasure Town was the Resistance, and the painful memories of the past.

More thunder crashed in the distance, mixing with the sound of the black waves collapsing on the shore. Terrell had always thought of the undying call of the thunder as a reminder of the final part of the prophecy.

"…_There will be a second chance…" _

He had held onto the prophecy with every part of his being for every minute of the five years without Kitt. It was the only thing that kept him going.

He decided to leave the Guild and go down to the beach. He didn't care that it was raining; he just wanted to clear his head. He left his room, and made his way into the Master's room. The Head of the Resistance, Chatot, was perched at the far end of the room, on a wooden beam.

Chatot had taken over as Guildmaster after the death of Wigglytuff in the early days of the New Era.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, fluttering down from his perch. "Terrell. How can I help you?"

"I'm going outside" Terrell replied. It was in the Resistance regulations that the Master is to be notified of any departures from the Guild.

"You know the rule" said Chatot, turning his head sideways. "You must travel in pairs outside. Besides, it's raining. Why would you want to go out there anyway? There's nothing out there".

"I just want to clear my head. You know I can fend for myself anyway."

Chatot sighed. "Fine, but just this once, Terrell" he said, returning to his perch on the beam.

The rain was colder than Terrell expected, and the wind bit into his fur. Still, he didn't want to go back inside the Guild, so he decided to go down to the beach.

The beach was as grey as the rest of the Town, dead and deserted, it had lost all of its former beauty when the New Era had begun, and no water-types swam there anymore. Terrell looked out across the bay. He remembered when he and Kitt used to splash each other here, and watch the Krabby blow bubbles from the cliff, the rainbow orbs floating across the bay, glistening in the sun. Those days had ended.

As Terrell wandered aimlessly along the shore, he caught a glimpse of something on the edge of the water. Something that shouldn't have been there.

"Could it…? No. Surely not…" Terrell said to himself. He felt his heart pounding harder in his chest as he ran towards the strange silhouette.

"Surely not…" he said again.

But it was.

Lying on the sand, on the edge of the water, was the beaten, broken and unconscious body of a Buizel. One that Terrell would have recognised anywhere, even if it had been five years.

It was Kitt. The prophecy had come true.

Terrell couldn't hold the tears back.

"You came…" he cried. "I let you down, but you came back!"

He turned to the Guild, and cried out.

"Hey!" he yelled, choking back tears. "Get me some help! I need a doctor!"

He turned back to Kitt. He was beaten and bloody, but he was Kitt all the same.

He had returned.


	3. A Promise

**Yay! Another chapter. Hey, what time is it?**

**FUN FACT TIME!**

**When I had originally planned this story, Kitt was an Umbreon and Terrell was a Glaceon named Caide.**

**Eeveelutions are a bit overdone, so I decided to change them.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy the next episode of The Real World more than I did**

**I hated writing this chapter...**

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The water was warm, and Dante felt like he could just float here forever, weightless, drifting to nowhere. He could see light emanating from the surface, but it looked cold and unforgiving, and Dante knew it was easier to just stay down here in the watery blackness. Then, slowly, something shifted in the water, and he felt his body begin to be pulled upwards, towards the surface. He tried to resist, but he had no energy. He was powerless to stop himself being carried by the unseen force. As the surface drew nearer, he began to hear voices.

_...Kitt..._

He had begun accelerating towards the surface now, and the cold lights had begun to assume some sort of form.

_...Kitt, please..._

The surface was so close now, almost within reach, and coming closer. Dante braced himself as he broke the surface.

"Kitt! Wake up!"

"H-huh?" Dante opened his eyes. He tried to focus them on his surroundings, but everything seemed blurry and out of focus. The light in the room - or whatever he was in - was blinding. Squinting, he raised an arm to protect his eyes. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, regaining some form of clarity. Standing in front of him was some sort of feline creature, with black fur. Dante had never seen anything like it, but, it seemed familiar at the same time, somehow. A word appeared in his head when he saw it. A word he'd never heard before, but was in his mind nonetheless. It was a Luxio

"Who's- who's Kitt?" He muttered.

Terrell sighed. "You are" He said, confused. "You're Kitt. Please say you remember."

Dante shook his head. "I'm sorry" he said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Can you remember anything? Anything at all?" Terrell asked, frustrated.

Dante thought for a moment, scratching his head. "No. Not really" he replied. I think I remember hitting my head. Not much else."

Terrell sighed again. Dante turned his head to get a better idea of where the hell he was. The room he was in seemed to be carved from rock, with a pair of windows overlooking a desolate beach and the ocean. To his right was a large, pink, egg-shaped thing. A Blissey. Dante had no idea how he knew that, but he did.

He realised he was lying on some sort of bed, and he looked down at his body. It was not how he remembered it. He noticed that one of his arms was heavily bandaged, and his body was a lot smaller, covered in orange fur. He knew what he was too, even though he had never even heard of one.

He was a Buizel.

Dante wasn't scared. Confused, yes, but not afraid. He felt strangely safe, simply happy to be alive, even though he wasn't even human anymore. He shifted his arms under his body, in an attempt to get up. As he did so, he felt a sudden stabbing pain in his left arm.

"Gah!" he winced. The Blissey gasped.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Don't put any weight on that arm, please."

Dante didn't need telling twice. He collapsed back into the pillow, clutching his injured arm. He couldn't even remember how he had injured it, but it certainly hurt.

Terrell was heartbroken. The Prophecy had come true, but it seemed that only Kitt's body had returned, and his memories had been left behind. He didn't understand why everything had to be so hard, or why fate seemed to hold a grudge against him. He couldn't bear to stay around Kitt any longer. The pain was too much. Without a word, he turned and left the room, trying to clear his head.

Dante watched as the Luxio left the room.

"What's with him?" he wondered aloud.

"You have no idea"

The voice had come from the opposite end of the room, and Dante slowly moved his head to see who the voice belonged to. It was Chatot, the Guildmaster. He had come in through a door that Dante hadn't even realised was there.

"He's waited five years for you to come back" he said.

"But I've never met him before!" Dante exclaimed, frustrated. "Why does everyone think they know me?"

"Because they do, Kitt. Everyone knows who you are."

"Everyone except me." Dante grumbled.

"Five years ago, you were sent to another dimension by Palkia, an evil Pokémon that has the power to control space." Chatot explained. "…And Terrell blames himself for your exile. He think that, because of his cowardice, the world lost you, but it was prophesised that you would return, and Terrell held onto that prophecy for five years."

Normally, Dante would be sceptical of such an unbelievable tale, but stranger things had happened to him in recent times, so he focussed intently on Chatot's words, and, slowly, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place in his mind.

"Three days ago" Chatot continued. "The prophecy came true. You were found lying on that beach down there, unconscious. We all thought that you had finally returned, including Terrell. He thought you were back, and everything was going to be okay, but he was wrong." He leaned closer. "You have not returned yet, Kitt. Not quite."

These words stuck in Dante's mind. "I haven't returned? Where am I supposed to go then?"

"I'm not sure" Chatot replied. "But I do know this; if there's anyone who can help you find who you are, it's Terrell. He knew you better than anyone else, and at the moment, he knows you better than you know yourself."

Dante dropped his gaze, staring at the floor. "Thanks" he said. He had heard enough.

"I sincerely hope you find yourself, Kitt, for your sake, and everyone else's."

With that, Chatot turned and vanished as quickly as he had appeared. Dante was left by himself to think. The doctor had followed after Terrell when he had left. He thought of Terrell, and the pain he had endured for five years. He thought of Terrell's joy when Kitt, himself, had appeared on the beach, only for his spirit to be crushed once again. He thought for a moment, and then made his decision.

Using his good arm, he managed to pull himself from the bed, and stand on his two feet. Walking was more of a challenge than he had originally guessed, simultaneously getting used to his new body and resisting the urge to walk on all fours. He managed to stumble to the end of the room, where he found a mirror. It felt more like a window than a mirror, like he was looking through a glass pane at a Buizel. A Buizel with its head bandaged, but a Buizel all the same. He knew that he was looking at the face of Kitt; the face of the one he had to find.

The wind was cold and sharp, and the sky a solid sheet of grey. The sea seemed nervous, restlessly undulating in the bay. Terrell ignored the cold bite of the wind, as he stared out to sea, as if he was waiting for someone to arrive. He was too focussed on the ocean to hear the sand crunch under the paw of a Pokémon.

"Hey…"

Terrell jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of a voice. He turned to see the owner of the voice, and was both relieved and annoyed to see that it was Kitt.

"What do you want?" he asked, slightly irritated that he had been disturbed the way he had.

Dante didn't answer straight away. He could see the redness in Terrell's eyes, and the trails of pain on his face.

"I… I Just want to give you something." He said, finally.

"What can you possibly give me?" Terrell half-yelled. "You have nothing. We both have nothing."

"I want to give you the only thing I can." Dante replied "A promise."

Terrell looked up to his face, confused.

"Look…" Dante went on. "I know I've let you down. I don't know who you are, really, but it seems I don't know myself either. My promise is that no matter how far or wide I have to travel, no matter how long it takes, I will find who I am. I will find Kitt. But I can't do it alone. I need someone who knows me better than anyone, even better than I know myself. I need you, Terrell."

Dante held out his paw. "Will you come with me?"

Terrell looked at Dante's paw, not quite sure what to do. He looked back into Dante's eyes, and smiled.

"Yes. I will" He said, placing his paw in Dante's. "Thank you Kitt. Thank you."


End file.
